বৃহস্পতিবার, ১ অক্টোবর, ২০০৯

The 6th SAFF Championship will be held in Dhaka from December 4 to 14, SAFF general secretary Sirajul Islam Bachchu disclosed at the BFF House yesterday. “The championship was initially slotted for Decem-ber 2-12, but with the consent from the member countries we have deferred it by two days because of the Eid-Ul-Azha [the second highest religious festival of Muslim community],” said Bachchu at a crowded press briefing where BFF president Kazi Salahuddin was also present.Salahuddin was actually the man behind bringing the biggest football festival of this region to Bangladesh for the second time after India relinquished its right host the meet following visa complications. The Indian government has stopped issuing visas to any Pakistan player, also a part of the eight-nation meet, following the Mumbai terrorist attack last year. “Bangladesh is lucky to host the SAFF Champion-ship for the second time,” said the SAFF general secretary, adding that the draw ceremony will take place on Saturday. Bangladesh won a two-way battle against Nepal to host the meet and Salahuddin is set to take the SAFF presidency on Saturday when the third SAFF congress takes place at Hotel Sheraton after the draw ceremony.A dynamic Salahuddin is the popular choice to take the hot seat from All Nepal Football Federation president Ganesh Thapa, who has been criticized for being inactive since taking over the SAFF presidency in 2001.“We promised to keep football in the field for 10 months in a year. We are now in a situation to believe that we can do it. And I just want to say that the awarding of the championship is recognition from other SAFF nation of our wholehearted effort,” said Salahuddin. “Now it our responsibility to make the championship a success so that in future we can ask the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that we are capable of hosting even bigger international tournaments.” Salahuddin also said that Bangladesh would be playing for the top position though the result in the last meet was not good.“Our target is to become number one though we finished seventh out of eight nations in the last meet. However, the players of the national team, who had practiced off-season under the head coach, looked quite fit and have been playing better in the ongoing Federation Cup so we can expect a good result from them in the SAFF Championship,” said Salahuddin. BFF senior vice president Salam Murshedi, vice presidents Sawkat Ali Khan Jahangir, Kazi Nabil Ahmed, general secretary Al Musabbir Sadi, members Harunur Rashid, Golam Rabbani Helal and Shafiqul Islam were among others present.

বুধবার, ৩০ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Almost all the excitement of the inter-club cricketers transfer was virtually buried much before the start of the official bourse after all the big clubs ensured their targeted players. However there was no shortage of enthusiasm among the supporters on the second day of the transfer when title contenders Mohammedan SC turned up yesterday to complete their formalities at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.Mohammedan, who have remained crownless since their last Premier League triumph in 2001, put on a huge show yesterday in the stadium arena as hundreds of supporters followed the horsecabs that carried star cricketers likes Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Mahmudullah Riyad, Aftab Ahmed, Khaled Mashud and others."Once I would expect such scenario especially the way Mohammedan have brought us in the stadium for the players' registration and the dream has come true," said left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal, for whom Mohammedan had earlier staged a drama to snatch the specialist batsman from the grip of their archrivals Abahani.Mohammedan, in a bid to put an end to their seven-year crown drought, have formed a fine side on paper after having signed up 10 new players as well as retaining the services of five old guards. But Tamim stressed the need for a hundred percent effort from the players and stressed the need for spirit that was in the Abahani camp during his last year there."It is impossible to achieve success until all players perform together, even you form a strongest side on paper and the key of the success is team spirit what I saw in Abahani during my stay there," said Tamim adding that it was possible to emerge champions this season. Tamim believed that Abahani, Gazi Tank Cricketers, Surjo Torun and Biman also formed good sides and Mohammedan would have to play better cricket against every side on way to their target.Captain Khaled Mashud Pilot, who had the experience to lead Abahani and Victoria to the title triumph, believed that Mohammedan had earlier had some lacking, but this time they formed a balanced team and now need the efforts from the players."If the cricketers can play their own game, the success will come automatically," Mashud said, "I had earlier seen the Mohammedan players could not perform well according to their merit, and this time I will share my experience with each of the players to bring the best from them."Hard-hitter Aftab Ahmed was much more happy to return to the mainstream cricket after his one-year exile to the ICC un-approved Indian Cricket League (ICL)."I forgot everything of the past year after having practiced with the Mohammedan team today (Wednesday) and it seems to me that I was not out of the domestic cricket. To be honest, I feel really better after a long time, " said Aftab Ahmed.He was also determined to return to the national fold. "I know it very well what will I have to do and if I can perform well, it will not be hard to secure a place of the national team." Mohammedan have signed up ten new players. They are Tamim, Ashraful, Mashud, Riyad, Imtiaz Khan, Nabil Samad, Raihan Uddin Arafat, Saqlaine Sajib and Shahajada Hossain.Surjo Torun signed up three players including national pacer Mahbubul Alam Robin on the second day with captain Habibul Bashar and Dhiman Ghosh accompanying the three cricketers."I would try to retain the results what the club achieved last season though it would be challenging," said Bashar, who is all set to captain Surjo Torun this year. Dhiman Ghosh, who was once mired in controversy amidst his comments during joining the ICL, said that he was now feeling remorse for his comments and that he was determined to return to the national fold through good performance.Besides, Old DOHS roped in 13 players and Victoria recruited nine players on the second day bourse.

মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Thankfully the rain that loomed large stayed away and the Citycell Federation Cup resumed after a 14-day break under brilliant sunshine at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. With the heavyweight still holidaying it was a day that belong to the lightweights. Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society, better known as a boggy of big teams, were back to business with a 3-1 thrashing of Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club. The victory of the old town outfit by a margin that they had scripted in their first game against Arambagh brightened their chances of playing the quarterfinals of the season's curtain-raiser from Group B.In the other match at the same venue newcomers Shukhtara Jubo Sangsad of Narayanganj tasted first victory when they handed Arambagh a 2-1 defeat. The defeat certainly served a deadly blow for Arambagh coach Wazed Gazi, who promised a lot on his return to his former club but after two defeats in a row faces early eliminating from the competition.In the day's second match, Rahmatganj's Ghanaian recruit Raphael Sagno, Ugandan Idris Kasirye and local boy Mamun put their names in the score sheet while Akber Hossain Ridon struck the consolation goal for the losers. Rahmatganj's coach Mir Mohammad Faruque employed five defenders like he did in the first game against Arambagh. But the defence had little to do in a match where Rahmatganj were in a rampant mood with their African striking duo of Idris and Raphael in full fury.The margin could have been bigger had not Chittagong Mohammedan goalkeeper Uttam Borua made some brilliant saves.Rahmatganj created huge pressure in the first 15 minutes and went close to taking the lead thrice, but Uttam denied them twice while Mamun drove miles off the target from a vantage position.Uttam's resistance was finally broken when Idris nodded a Raphael header home inside the eight-yard box in the 29th minute and seven minutes later Raphael doubled the margin against his former club with a soft touch after being freed by Choumrin Rakhine.Chittagong Mohammedan rarely threatened the Rahmatganj territory. Ridon, who struck twice against Shukhtara, however pulled one back five minutes before the break with a spectacular shot from the top of the box. Rahmatganj made the contest all but over when Mamun struck the third from a rebound five minutes into the second half after a Raphael header came off the sidebar.Chittagong staged a late rally but after a Farhad header rattled the crossbar and goalkeeper Himel saved a close-range shot from substitute Kamrul Islam Pavel a defeat was written in the wall.Rahmatganj now need a draw in their last match against Shukhtara Jubo Sangsad to advance in the knockout stage. In the day's first match, Mehdi Hasan Tapu gave Shukhtara an 18th minute lead but their joy lasted only eight minutes as veteran striker Alfaz Ahmed, capitalizing on a terrible defensive error, blasted home the equalizer. After the resumption, Saiful Islam Khokon sealed the fate of the match with a spectacular side volley.

সোমবার, ২৮ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Old foes Mohammedan and Abahani are all set to complete their registration formalities after having confirmed the services of their targeted players as the much-talked inter-club cricketers' transfers get underway at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.Holders Abahani brought in a heat wave in the market after signing up superstars Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan with record deals of Tk 20 lakh each, long before the start of the three-day official transfers, that subsequently brought archrivals Mohammedan in the bourse.Mohammedan apparently woke up from the slumber to snatch sensational opener Tamim Iqbal from the Abahani tent and singed up Mohammad Ashraful and the officials of Mohammedan also declared that the duo would not get less payment than Mashrafe and Shakib.Meanwhile, when the two giants were busy flexing their muscles, new powerhouse Gazi Tank Cricketers were apparently engaged in strengthening their line-up to challenge the perennial dominance of Abahani and Mohammedan.The club officials this time have showed huge interest in batting specialists, all-rounder and the ICL-returned players and did not hesitate to offer lucrative payment to them. But they did not show any interest in the national team pacers, who struggled to get a good team.Abahani, who are bidding for the fourth successive prestigious Dhaka Premier League title, have already confirmed Mashrafe, Shakib and Imrul Kayes from the national pool. Besides, the Dhanmondi-based side roped in pacers Robiul Islam and Mukthar Ali and retained the services of Rony Talukdar, Nasir Hossain, Sahagir Hossain and Shubhasis Roy.They also have so far retained the services of opener Mahbubul Karim and left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. The duo missed the last season due to their commitment in the ICC un-approved ICL (Indian Cricket League).Mohammedan, who remained crownless for the last seven years since their last victory in 2001, have built the strongest side on paper after confirming the three pool players -- Tamim, Ashraful and Mahmudullah Riyad.Besides, the Motijheel-based outfit so far confirmed Shamsur Rahman, Marshall Ayub, Khaled Mashud, Nabil Samad, Mohammad Shahzada, Delwar Hossain, Saqlain Sajib, Foysal Hossain and ICL-returnee Aftab Ahmed. Sri Lankan cricketer Farveez Maharoof is supposed to play for the traditional powerhouse.Nevertheless, the title race will not be limited only between Abahani and Mohammedan as Gazi Tank appear the real threat for the two traditional rivals.Gazi Tank also completed their pool quota by securing left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, Naeem Islam and Nazmul Hossain, but their major strength is believed to be ICL-returned Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali, Nazimuddin and Forhad Reza.Besides, Gazi Tank so far confirmed the services of Mohammad Mithun, Farhad Hossain, Suhrawardi Shuvo, Ziaur Rahman, Nadimuddin Mintu, Raihan Anas. The club's coordinator Rakib Haider Pavel said they were also expecting the services Pakistani cricketer Abdul Razzak from the very beginning of the league.Biman Bangladesh Airlines have lost much of their players, but they still have some quality players, who can be a serious threat for the title contenders.Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehrab Hossain Junior, Tushar Imran, Jahirul Islam, Mosharraf Hossain Rubel, Tareq Aziz, Talha Jubair, Sharifullah and Ellias Sunny are among the notable players.National players -- Roqibul Hasan and Enamul Haq Junior -- are all set to join Kalabagan KC after pacer Shahadat Hossain signed for Kalabagan in a special transfer window that was arranged for the Bangladesh A team players. Kalabagan also so far roped in Nazmus Sadat, Rasel al Mamun, Javed Omar, Golam Mabud, Ariful Haque, Shafaq Al Jabir and Murad Khan.Syed Rasel is to play for Cricket Coaching School while Dollar Mahmud and Rubel Hossain are supposed to play for Old DOHS.National opener Junaed Siddique, pacer Mahbubul Alam Robin along with Habibul Bashar, Hannan Sarkar, Rajin Saleh, Dhiman Ghosh, Tapash Baishya, Imtiaz Hossain and Monjurul Islam would play for the Surjo Tarun.

Some 50 to 60 members of Mohammedan Sporting Club have requested the convenor of the club's ad-hoc committee to extend the deadline for depositing money to become members of Mohammedan Limited.After the annual general meeting in May, the members of the club were asked to pay Tk one lakh each by September to get a permanent membership of Mohammedan Limited. Besides, a 48-member ad-hoc committee headed by Mosaddek Ali Falu was formed to run the regular activities of the club.However, it was learnt that many members of the ad-hoc committee have yet to pay the money and sought a two-to-four weeks extension of the submission date.Member-secretary of the committee Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan admitted some members requested them to push back the deadline.

After agreeing in principle to extend the tenure of head coach Jamie Siddons in the second week of this month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday held an informal meeting with coach Jamie Siddons over the terms of his new contract.The Australian coach was given an extension up till the 2011 ICC World Cup in the subcontinent after he replaced his compatriot Dav Whatmore two years ago.Siddons returned to Bangladesh on Thursday last after undergoing a successful skin cancer surgery in Australia. The Bangladesh head coach flew to Australia from Zimbabwe in August to diagnose his skin cancer following Bangladesh's 4-1 ODIs series triumph in Zimbabwe. Eyanet Hossain Siraj, the chairman of the BCB cricket operations committee, however, said that he just had a friendly chat with Siddons. "It was just an informal meeting with him (Siddons) and we heard about his physical condition after the surgery. Besides as the chairman of the cricket operations committee, I wanted to congratulate him following Bangladesh's brilliant results in West Indies and Zimbabwe. It was not possible before because he wasn't in the country at that time.” Siraj said that they would later fix a date to discuss about the terms and conditions of the new contract and asked the coach to let them know about the contract if he had any observation. The BCB directors said that the coach expressed his satisfaction over the extension of his job till the next World Cup. The meeting also discussed about Bangladesh's preparation ahead of the home series against Zimbabwe, England and the tri-nation tournament next year. "We discussed about Bangladesh's future itineraries," said Siraj adding that Siddons had no reservation with the appointment of former captain Khaled Mahmud as his assistant.It was reported that the coach did not take the move cordially, as the BCB did not discuss the matter with him previously.“He has no reservation with Mahmud. He told me that the appointment of Mahmud would help him," said Siraj.The BCB official said Siddons had some observation over his new deal, which he will forward to the cricket operations committee in due manner for further discussion.

রবিবার, ২৭ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

A traditional boat race was held on September 26 on the river Kumar on the occasion of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bengali Hindu community. Tengakhali Puja Celebration Committee of Magura sadar upazila organised the event. Eight teams from four upazilas of Magura and neighbouring Rajbari district participated in the competition.A boat from Boroichara, under Shalikha upazila of Magura, named 'Mayer Ashirbad' bagged the first prize, while another from Potora village under Baliakandi upazila of Rajbari district, named 'Doyal Moti' secured the second position. 'Moyur Pankhi,' from Gopalpur village, under Sreepur upazila, earned the third prize.Chairman of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and local lawmaker Dr. Mohammad Serajul Akbar was the chief guest at the competition. Special guests were the DC (Deputy Commissioner) of Magura, Mohammad Dilwar Bakht; additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Tarikul Alam, Magura sadar upazila parishad chairman Abu Nasir Bablu and Senior Assistant Commissioner Abdulla-hel-Baki. The guests gave away the prizes among the winners of the competition.Thousands of people, including women and children, thronged the venue and enjoyed the traditional event.

শনিবার, ২৬ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming home series against England Under-19 and Zimbabwe Under-19 in October and November as part of their preparation for the ICC Under-19 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in January next year.All-rounder Mahmudul Hasan, who has the experience of playing the World Cup in Malaysia in 2008 and also leading the side in the one-day series win against England earlier this year, has been named captain while left-handed batsman Amit Majumder will be his deputy for the two series.The England U-19s are scheduled to arrive in the capital on October 8. The series starts with a four-dayer over October 16-19 in Chittagong followed by seven 50-overs matches between October 23 and November 4 at Chittagong, Fatullah and Mirpur.The Zimbabwe U-19s then come here to play five one-day matches between November 13 and November 21.SQUADMahmudul Hasan (captain), Amit Majumder (vice-captain), Saikat Ali, Immamul Hossain, Tasamul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, Mominul Haque, Abul Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Arman Badshah, Alauddin Babu, Mobassher Khan, Shaker Ahmed, Nur Hossain, Anamul Haque (wicketkeeper) and Nurul Hasan (wicketkeeper).

শুক্রবার, ২৫ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) revealed the itinerary of the England team's tour to Bangladesh in February-March next year.The England team will arrive in Dhaka on February 17 to play two Tests and three one-day internationals against the Tigers during their 38-day long trip.The visitors are scheduled to start their campaign with three one-day warm-up games but it was yet to confirmed.The first two ODIs will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and then the teams will travel to Chittagong to play the third and final one-day and as well a three-day warm-up game before the first Test to be held at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium.The second Test will be held at Mirpur.ITINERARY February 21: One-day warm-up against BCB XI (To be confirmed)February 23: One-day warm-up against BCB XI (To be confirmed)February 25: One-day warm-up against BCB XI (To be confirmed)February 28: First ODI at MirpurMarch 2: Second ODI at MirpurMarch 5: Third ODI at ChittagongMarch 7-9: 3-dayer against Bangladesh A at ChittagongMarch 12-16: First Test at ChittagongMarch 20-24: Second Test at Mirpur

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৪ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday took over as president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the most lucrative sports federation of the country, with high hopes.In the initiation ceremony at the BCB headquarters at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, both the new boss and his predecessor Lt. Gen. Sina Ibn Jamali shared a common view that without professionalism in all activities it was impossible to achieve any goal in this modern day.And here lies the main challenge for the new president and without any delay he should take some decisions to make everybody believe that his view about professionalism is not 'for the sake of discussion only'.But the harsh reality is that an organisation like BCB has been running without a permanent CEO (chief executive officer) for more than one-and-a-half years now, although a plan is already in place to give the board a corporate shape.One may disagree, but the reality is that professionalism has taken a backseat ever since the departure of Zimbabwean CEO Macky Dudhia. And now there should not be any doubt that the new boss will have to appoint someone highly efficient in this demanding post if he wants to make his dream come true.The biggest challenge ahead for the sport's local governing body is to successfully hold the 2011 World Cup and this should undoubtedly be the board's top priority. More than six months have already gone by after the BCB high-ups admitted that they were lagging behind in their preparations for the mega event. Unfortunately the board has yet to start the work for preparing the stadiums for the event although the government has approved the budget.No doubt that the board needs government's patronisation in this regard and the appointment of Kamal, a very influential ruling Awami League lawmaker, made many believe that things would now change and the board get the best support from government.A lot was expected when a band of tried and tested organisers took office of the richest sports body of the country through a fervent election November last year, but one can't say the best has been delivered from them.Like it or hate it, in modern day success depends on good governance and there is no doubt that the board has a lot of good people working with it and many believe that the new president can boost up the activities on a fiercely competitive field, where Bangladesh have won more criticism than applause.It is hoped that under the new leader the board would move forward with pragmatic plans.After the 2005 election the area that suffered most was development and here Kamal has to be proactive to fulfil his dream as he said in the press conference yesterday: "I want to take our cricket to new heights".These are some of so many other issues that can be raised but the main thing is that the new president has to make sure a teamwork to look after the immediate issues as well as chalk out a long-term programme for which he will be remembered in the country's history of cricket.And everybody wants to believe in his words that "club affiliation and political affiliation will not play any role in running the show during my tenure", although some unsavoury scenes took place as a few supporters greeted him with bouquets, hoisting banners.

The national cricketers will resume their practice after Eid vacation today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. After treatment on his skin cancer coach Jamie Siddons, whose job has been extended till the 2011 World Cup, returned Dhaka two days back to take charge of the team. The cricketers started their preparation ahead of the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe, who will arrive in Dhaka on October 21 to play a five-match one-day series against the Tigers. Siddons however will get only few cricketers to train as four players have been selected to tour with the Bangladesh A team in India while captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is going through a rehabilitation programme and his deputy Shakib Al Hasan is nursing a groin injury. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak is now in India with his ailing mother while left-arm pacer Syed Rasel was rushed to Dhaka from Jessore on Wednesday and admitted to a city hospital with high fever."Rasel is now okay. His family was little bit worried with the symptoms of the fever and that's why they rushed to Dhaka but there was nothing wrong in the examination reports," informed assistant coach Khaled Mahmud.

বুধবার, ২৩ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

The government on Wednesday appointed AHM Mustafa Kamal as the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) putting an end to speculations where he was a front-runner for the hot seat. Keeping in mind the 2011 World Cup, in which Bangladesh is a co-host, the present government had been searching for a suitable candidate for the sensitive post where Kamal, popularly known as Lotus Kamal, won the two-way battle against Gazi Golam Dastagir. The 62-year-old Awami League lawmaker from Comilla will replace Lt Gen Sina Ibn Jamali, who has been running the show since July 29, 2007.Kamal will take over the presidency of most lucrative federation today. He will be the second Awami League lawmaker after Saber Hossain Chowdhury whose dynamic leadership from 1996 to 2001 saw Bangladesh win the Test status.Although Kamal has not previously served the board in any capacity, his love for the game and the money he spent to make domestic cricket popular made him the popular choice for the demanding job. Kamal, who is the cricket committee chairman of popular club Abahani, a position he has successfully held since 1990, however said that he was ready to take the challenge."First of all I'm thankful to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for giving me the opportunity to lead a very important sports federation, especially when we are going to host a World Cup. I am aware about the huge responsibility and I am ready to take the challenge," said an excited Kamal in his instant reaction yesterday.Bangladesh will stage the opening ceremony of the 2011 World Cup, an event of this magnitude the country has never staged before. Besides, Bangladesh will also play host to eight matches including two quarterfinals of cricket's quadrennial showpiece event. "I think professionalism is the most important thing to successfully run any organisation and I must ensure it at BCB during my tenure. If we can ensure professionalism in our all activities then we would be able to achieve everything," said a confident new BCB president, who is also a leading apparel businessman. He also said that it would not be a problem for him to run the show properly despite the fact that he holds some important responsibilities. Presently he is the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Finance and also the secretary, finance and planning of the Bangladesh Awami League"You know, a manager gets the job done. I will try my best to ensure teamwork to achieve the goal. I can ensure you that I will give my best effort to enhance the reputation of Bangladesh cricket and I am hopeful that I will get all out support from elected board directors," he hoped.He said that the board has to have the long-term and short-term strategy to improve the game in the country. "I have some plans but let me start my job first," he added.BCB's director and media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said that they were happy with the appointment."We got a good leader ahead of the World Cup because he [AHM Mustafa Kamal] has a rich background. We also want to thank the outgoing president for successfully running the show and working with a positive frame of mind," said Yunus, who is also vice-president of Abahani's cricket committee.

সোমবার, ২১ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Saturday released the revised fixture of the Citycell Federation Cup Football tournament that will resume on September 29 at two separate venues in the city-Bangabandhu National Stadium and Banani Army Stadium. As per the revised schedule, Chittgong Mohammedan SC will take on Rahmatganj MFS at the BNS, while Arambagh KS meets Shuktara Jubo Sangsad at the Army Stadium, both at 4 pm.Earlier, on September 15, BFF was forced to postpone the Federation Cup matches due to unplayable ground following heavy shower in the city.

শনিবার, ১৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Sajjad Hossain created a small piece of history when he became the first Bangladeshi archer to win a gold medal at an international tournament yesterday. The unheralded archer from Chandpur defeated T Rangper of Iran to clinch the individual recurve 70m gold in the 4th Asian Archery Grand Prix Championship at Salt Lake City in Kolkata. Bangladesh also clinched the silver medal in the team event in a sport that started a quiet journey in 2006. Sajjad was four points clear of his heavyweight Iranian counterpart after scoring 105 out of a maximum 120 points from 12 attempts. "I feel really happy to see the national flag flying at an international tournament and hear the national anthem," Sajjad told the Daily Star Sport over phone in his immediate reaction. Sajjad was hundred per cent perfect in seven of his 12 shots that eventually earned him the gold.Sajjad's confidence was sky high after he beat world champion Rahul Rajib of India in the quarterfinal, although he admitted that he hadn't expected such a result against the world champion archer."After beating Rahul Rajib, I started to believe that I could do something in the tournament and crossed the semifinal hurdle defeating Biswas and then the dream came true in the final," said Sajjad. The champion archer, however, said that he was confident of doing well in the tournament even before he left for Kolkata as he had good preparation at home where he shot highest 112 points. Sajjad is optimistic that he would be able to carry his form into next year's South Asian (SA) Games at home.The Bangladesh team comprising Noor-e-Alam, Imdadul Haq Milon and Zia-ul-Haq bagged silver in the team event with 209 points behind the Indian team that finished with 220 points. Bangladesh's best success previously at an international archery tournament came in the 2006 SA Games in Colombo where Noor-e-Alam grabbed the individual silver medal and Bangladesh secured bronze in the same team event.

শুক্রবার, ১৮ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Telecom giant Grameenphone will sponsor the country's first-ever beach cricket tournament to be held at the tourist resort of Cox's Bazar on October 9.Week End Cricket Club Association (WECCA) is organizing the tournament to introduce Bangladesh to the world of beach cricket as well as to popularise Cox's Bazar as a local and international beach cricket venue.Some 14 teams, split into four groups, will compete in the five-over-a-side daylong meet.WECCA was established in 2000 with professional and amateur cricketers from Bangladesh who play cricket on weekly holiday.

বৃহস্পতিবার, ১৭ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Grand Master Niaz Murshed improved his position after winning the sixth round game in the Ravana Challenge International Chess Tournament in Colombo on Wednesday.Niaz won the sixth round board against local TDR Pairis and raised his tally to 4.5 points to share the second spot along with four other players. Four players are sharing lead with five points each after the end of the 6th round games.

বুধবার, ১৬ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

The executive committee of the Bangladesh Olympic Association on Tues-day approved the mascot of the 11th South Asian Games that will be held from January 29 to February 9 in the country.Doel (Robin Magpie), the national bird of Bangladesh, has been chosen as the figure of the mascot. The Doel, holding the Olympic torch, will entertain the athletes of the eight participating nations during the 12-day regional extravaganza.It is the third time that Bangladesh is hosting the regional showpiece event after 1985 and 1993.Mahmud Islam, a former student of Dhaka University Art Institute, designed the mascot.Prominent artist Mostafa Manwar had designed the 1993 meet mascot -- a Mishuk -- while a tiger's cub was the mascot of the 1985 meet.The 11th edition of the meet will see highest 23 disciplines, with five disciplines cricket, golf, ushu, handball and cycling have been included for the first time.Like previous two occasions the Bangabandhu National Stadium will be the centre attraction when athletes from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and new entrants Afghanistan and hosts Bangladesh assemble for the biggest jamboree of the region.

The season's transfer market for the upcoming Premier Division Cricket League may not have started yet, but it has already stamped its mark in the domestic arena with a few players signing whopping deals with the top-ranked clubs.Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan, dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, who added more spice to the whole thing by making a somersault, and former national skipper Mohammad Ashraful all have already significantly improved their price tags to kick-start the transfer market with record deals with the country's two popular sides -- Abahani and Mohammedan.But there have been contrasting fortunes for the other national players like Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Rokibul Hasan, Syed Rasel, Enamul Haque as these players almost begged to get a team for this season.Especially the pace bowlers have been facing the adverse situation following Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) pool system where one club is eligible to sign a maximum of three players.Right-arm paceman Shahadat urged the game's governing body to keep the pacers out of pool so that they can avoid the painful situation.The lanky paceman talked with the reporters after signing for Kalabagan Krira Chakra from Bangladesh Biman yesterday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. The inter-club players' transfer is originally scheduled from September 29 to October 1, but a special arrangement has been made to accommodate the players of the Bangladesh A team who will be touring Indian state of Maharashtra from September 26 to October 17."It seems that I made a mistake by representing the national team. It's painful that nobody showed any interest in me. Thank God, I finally got a team. When some of my colleagues are getting huge amounts, players like me have been left suffering to even get a team. It's happened because of the pool system. I don't find any logic about it," complained Shahadat."Now nobody will show interest to become a pace bowler if this kind of trend continues. It is very sad that the pacers have never been rated either in the domestic scene or in the national side. Mashrafe is exceptional but think about Mohammad Rubel who is yet to get a team although he is a very promising pace bowler in the country," he said adding that the authority must take the matter seriously.Experienced paceman Tareq Aziz, who switched to Biman from Mohammedan, also echoed the sentiment though he is not in the pool."I think only the pacers have been suffering for the pool system and they should be kept out of the pool and there is no need to mention that I am getting less payment compared to the last season. It is also new experience to take part in a special transfer window though we had earlier participated in gorgeous transfer all together," said Tareq.A total of eight players -- Talha Jubair (to Biman from Abahani), Tareq (to Biman from Mohammedan), Imran Ahmed (to Biman from Abahani), Nafis Iqbal (to Mohammedan from Gazi Tank), Ziaur Rahman (to Gazi Tank from Abahani), Imrul Kayes (to Abahani from Gazi Tank), Sohrawordi Shuvo (to Gazi Tank from Mohammedan) and Shahadat (to Kalabagan from Biman) -- turned up yesterday to put pen to paper for their new clubs.Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak was supposed to sign for Gazi Tank from Biman but he is now in India for a family commitment."Razzak is now in India with his ailing mother and realistically could not attend today's window and if he is not given a special window to sign up, then we will request him to quit the Bangladesh A team," said Rokib Haider Pavel, co-ordinator of Gazi Tank.Hannan Sarker (Surjo Torun), Nazmul Hossain Milon (CCS), Sahagir Hossain (Abahani), Rajin Saleh (Surjo Torun) and Dollar Mahmud (Mohammedan) didn't turn up on the day as they stayed at their old clubs.The Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League will start from October 10 while the one-day competition of the most coveted league is scheduled for October 23 to December 15.

মঙ্গলবার, ১৫ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Both matches of the Citycell Federation Cup were postponed yesterday following heavy rain that made the condition of the ground unplayable at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.Subsequently the football's governing body postponed the Federation Cup for almost two weeks and decided to resume it after the vacation of Eid-ul-Fitr and Puja.The Bangladesh Football Federation was also forced to start Monday's Mohammedan-Brothers Union match almost an hour later following a slight half-an-hour drizzle that resulted in an overflow of the ground of Bangabandhu National Stadium, which is scheduled to host the gala opening ceremony of the 2011 ICC World Cup. Only an hour's downpour forced the organisers to postpone the matches and it proved how poor the drainage system of the national stadium is. Subsequently it has raised the questions of how this very ground will negotiate the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in December if there is any rain forecast in that period of time. The National Sports Council is apparently in slumber as the sports regulatory body has yet to respond to the BFF's appeal to make the BNS ground an international standard although the FIFA delegation has insisted on it on both visits to the BNS. Before the start of the season's curtain-raising tournament, the football governing body also asked the NSC to level the ground by filling it with earth, but the NSC has yet to take any initiatives so far and subsequently the downpour makes the uneven ground even worse. Many think the NSC should allot the BNS for football for a certain period what they did for cricket in Mirpur and thus the football's governing body can take total care of the ground. Rahmatganj MFS were scheduled to play Chittagong Mohammedan SC while Arambagh KS were to take on newcomers Shukhtara Jubo Sangsad of Narayanganj, both at the BNS. The Federation Cup was supposed to continue till September 17. "The heavy rain made the ground's condition unplayable and there is also light to moderate forecast of rain tomorrow (Wednesday) so the matches have been postponed and the

সোমবার, ১৪ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Nigerian striker Christian Emeka celebrated his return to Mohammedan with a hattrick and confirmed the Black and White's quarterfinal berth in the Federation Cup after crushing Brothers Union by a mammoth 7-1 in Group A encounter at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Apart from Emeka's treble, Zahid Hasan Emily, Zahid Hossain, Alamu Bukola and substitute Alamgir Kabir netted one goal apiece for the Motijheel-based outfit, who raised their points tally to six from two outings with a match in hand against BKSP.Murad Ahmed Milon scored the lone goal for the Gopibagh-based Brothers Union. Away at the Bangladesh Army Stadium, newcomers Feni Soccer Club kept their hopes of qualifying the quarterfinals alive with a massive 7-0 win over BKSP, thanks to hattricks from Anwar Hossain and Monamem Khan Raju. Brothers and Feni are now level with three points each and square off in the crucial last group match to see them in the last eights after the vacation of Eid-ul-Fitr. Back to the Mohammedan-Brothers match, Mohammedan coach Maruful Haq chose the same eleven that thrashed Feni Soccer Club 4-0 in the opening match and it got off to a sparkling start when Emily with a solo effort darted in the box immediately after kick-off. And three minutes into the first half, the former Abahani striker rose highest to connect an Arman Aziz free kick, but saw his header come off the post.Surviving from the starting moments, Brothers went on the attack and found the back of the net in the eighth minute when Milon was presented a free header by Sabuj Kumar from the right and the striker nodded the ball home though Mohammedan goalkeeper MN Shakil got a hand to it. After going down, star-studded Mohammedan stepped up the attack on the rain-socked pitch played at a frenetic pace until the breather. It was Emily, who struck two goals in his debut match, who levelled the margin in the 20th minute with a soft header after being presented a opportunity from a Zahid cross. The supplier then turned scorer two minutes later as he put the holders ahead with a cleaver over-head shot after being set up by defensive midfielder Arman Aziz.Emily was forced to leave the field after 25 minutes after having sustained a muscle cramp that allowed Emeka, who last season played for Abahani and struck 17 goals in B. League, to play the season's first match and saw the formation of a lethal attack with Nigerian Bukola, last season's highest scorer.Soon Emeka had started to have an impact on the match as Brothers Union, had virtually no resistance in midfield as well as at the backline and sank to a massive defeat. Emeka's side-volley off a Zahid cross came off the post in the 33rd minute and a few minutes later Bukola sent a 12-yard spot kick wide. But Emeka made it 3-1 two minutes from the breather with a diving header off a low cross from Wali Faisal, who also looked impressive yesterday compared to his debut match. After resumption, Maruf sent Rana, who was playing his first match in the top-flight, on the left side in place of Enamul Haq Sharif and the national midfielder impressed all to turn provider for the fourth goal.Rana dragged a shot from the left and Emeka tapped it from close range in the 58th minute before he himself unleashed a powerful shot inside the box past goalkeeper Jahangir Alam in the 81st minute.With seven minutes left, Bukola made it 6-1 before Emeka completed his hattrick two minutes from time to add insult to injury. The result was so embarrassing for the Gopibagh giants that manager Amer Khan and coach Wasim Iqbal both left the field at the end of the game without facing the press.At Army Stadium, Feni Soccer Club went ahead with a fourth-minute strike from Anwar, who later found the back of BKSP net in the 50th and 58th minute to complete a treble. Monaem Khan Raju, a winger of Dido's camp, also found the hattrick scoring in the 45th, 53rd and 70th minute. Ashraful Kader Manju struck the other to taste first win after losing to Mohammedan.TEAMSMOHAMMEDAN: MN Shakil, Wali Faisal, Nasiruddin, Ariful Islam, Enamul Haq Sharif (Alamgir Kabir Rana), Mofazzal Hossain Saikat, Arman Aziz (Shakil Ahmed), Zahid Hasan Emily (Christian Emeka), Abdul Baten Komol and Alamu Bukola.BROTHERS: Yousuf Ali Khan, Ripon Khan, Moniruzzaman Mamun, Masud Rana, Lutfur Rahman Nayan (M Adil), Muksudul Alam Bulbul (Tanmoy Hossain), Tavir Ahmed (Didarul Alam), Murad Hossain Milon, Sabuj Kumar, Jahangir Alam and Moussa Fontaine Camara. Referee: Abdul Hannan MironYellow cards: Zahid Hossain (Mohammedan), Jahangir Alam (Brothers).

রবিবার, ১৩ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Title contenders Dhaka Abahani started their season with an unimpressive 1-0 victory over Bangladesh Police in a group D match of the Citycell Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National stadium on Sunday. In the other match of the day, Mutkijoddha shared the points with a 1-1 draw against Chittagong Abahani at the same venue. The start studded Abahani with their two foreign recruits, forward Awudu Ibrahimn and defender Samad Yousif, hardly showed their superiority over the spirited Police outfit who sometimes fought neck and neck with their opponents. The attacking line of the Abahani comprising Enamul, Uzzal and Awudu lacked the cohesion in the first outing of the season. Another forward Robin missed out on the opener due to fever. However, Abahani were unfortunate as three of their efforts in the second half came back off the woodwork. Abahani pushed forward in search of a goal from the very beginning but found the opposition harder than what they had anticipated. However, midfielder Pranatosh’s header from a Motiur Munna free-kick from the left flank in the 15th minute put Abahani ahead. Abahani continued the attacking tactic but the goal remained a far cry. They were fortunate in the 22nd minute when Nazmul Hossain’s header after a combined attack hit the woodwork with Biplob rooted at the far post. Earlier, Biplob punched a Robin free-kick to safety in the 14th minute. Abahani midfielder Uzzal broke through the defence in the 30th minute but with only the Police goalkeeper to beat he put the ball straight into the shot-stopper’s lap. The second half was dominated by Abahani but another goal remained out of their reach. Awudu hit the sidepost from close range in the 57th minute, Rajani’s shot crashed against the crossbar in the 75th minute and Samad also saw his header hit the woodwork in the 85th minute. In the day’s first match, Tipu’s cleverly taken placing shot from a Kanchan cross put Muktijoddha ahead in the second minute but just two minutes later Masud Alam of Chittagong Abahani restored parity after a combined attack. Both the teams wasted a number of chances in the remaining time of the match.

শনিবার, ১২ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza said that it was too early to say whether he will be available for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe will arrive in Bangladesh on October 21 to compete in the five-match one-day series against the Tigers in Dhaka and Chittagong and Mashrafe has been retained as captain for the series despite the uncertainty over his fitness. The 'Narail Express' joined the national camp yesterday although he is not yet fit to perform the fitness drills as the space spearhead is going through rehabilitation programme after having his both knees operated on."It is too early to say anything on my return for the home series against Zimbabwe. I still have more than a month to get fully fit for the series. And as per surgeon's (Dr. David Young) advice, I will be available from before the second one-dayer," said Mashrafe while speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. The first match of the five-match series will take place at Mirpur on October 27 and the second and third game will be held at the same venue on October 29 and 31 respectively. The fourth and fifth one-dayers are scheduled to take place in Chittagong on November 3 and 5.“I can understand my position once I start the running in two weeks. I feel good now even though there is bit of pain at times. I may even be able to play the first one-dayer if I feel good because the surgeon said that it would be up to me to decide," said Mashrafe, who injured his right knee during the first Test against the West Indies at St. Vincent in June and has been out of the game since.National team physio Michael Henry too echoed Mashrafe's words as he said that it's very difficult for any surgeon to put a definite time frame on return.It was painful for the country's leading paceman not to be part of the team's recent successes in the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe but he was happy with the progress of the team and said it would not be easy for him to get back to rhythm after long absence from cricket. "For any pace bowler it's not easy to get back to rhythm after recovering from injury. So, it would be a big challenge for me no matter who the opponents are. I am looking forward to returning to cricket. I may miss the T20 Premier League matches but I am hopeful about the Zimbabwe series," said a confident Mashrafe. Bangladesh skipper also expressed his satisfaction over the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)'s recent decision to continue with the current set up of the national team including the extension of coach Jamie Siddons's tenure to 2011 World Cup."It's always good not to make random changes in the team. I think it's a very good decision to continue with the same coach because every coach has his own style of coaching and you must give someone enough time to shape the team by applying his method," Mashrafe concluded.

শুক্রবার, ১১ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Chittagong Moha-mmedan Sporting Club rallied from one goal down to beat Shuktara Jubo Sangsad 2-1 in the Citycell Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday. Akbar Hossain Ridon, the hardworking forward of Chittagong Mohammedan, scored both the goals to cancel out Rezaul Karim Liton’s first-half injury time strike. Chittagong Moha-mmedan fielded five forwards in Morshed, Shariful, Touhid, Ridon and Farhad that clearly showed their attacking intentions. The strategy paid dividends as Shuktara, the newcomers in the B League, were cornered by the series of attacks. However, the failure to utilise the opportunities saw them trail by a goal in the first half. In the second half Shuktara showed the fatigue allowing their opponents to take control of the match and they did it in style. Shariful got the first chance in the 15th minute as he ran down the left flank but shot straight at Shuktara goalkeeper Al Amin. Former national forward Farhad gave a square pass to Ridon in the 25th minute but the striker’s powerful shot went well over the crossbar. Seven minutes later Ridon rocked the crosspiece after Linkon had curved a nice cross from the left flank. Chittagong Moha-mmedan having been frustrated at the failures took a back seat as Shuktara started to torment their defence with Liton, Rizvi and Topu leading the attacks. Rizvi side-footed a Topu cross to beat Chittagong Mohammedan keeper Uttam but the ball rolled wide of the side post in the 36th minute. Observing a lack of concentration of Chittagong Mohammedan players Shuktara pushed forward and initiated two attacks with the latter earning the lead for them. In the 45th minute Rizvi galloped down the right flank and provided a cross to Liton who pushed the ball to Zahidul standing in the six-yard box. But Zahidul made an unpardonable mistake hitting the ball into the chest of Uttam. But in the second minute of the two-minute added time Liton pushed the ball into the net to put his team ahead. Capitalising on a misunderstanding between Sirajul and Shawkat who hesitated to clear a Sohel long ball, Liton beat Uttam with a gentle push. But Shuktara lost the rhythm in the second half and Chittagong Moha-mmedan duly scored two goals. The port city outfit clearly was the better team on the field and their perseverance paid off. In the 68th minute Ridon and Shariful combined to split the defence and Ridon beat Al Amin at the keeper’s near post. Farhad, who hardly showed anything worthy of mentioning, however, set up Ridon for the winning goal five minute from the stipulated time. Dashing down the left flank with an Emon long ball he provided a perfect cross to Ridon who gently tapped the ball home from handshaking distance.

In the day’s second match at the same venue, Rahmatganj MFS inspired by their foreign recruits Raphael Sagno and Idris Kasirye overpowered Arambagh KS 3-1. Arambagh looked unfit from the very beginning and they paid the penalty at the end. Md Mamun put Rahmatganj ahead in the 14th minute but ace forward Alfaz Ahmed restored parity just one minutes later. Arambagh ran out of gas in the second half and Rahmatganj took the command. Sagno blasted the second goal in the 70th minute and Idris netted the third in the 87th to give the Old Dhaka outfit a bright start.

Old Trafford has been awarded one of the two Tests against Bangladesh in 2010, with the other going to Lord’s. The announcement comes following recommendations from the ECB’s Independent Major Match Group, and will be of some consolation to Lancashire after they controversially missed out on hosting an Ashes Test this summer. Lord’s will also stage one of the two Test between Australia and Pakistan, with the other being played at Headingley. Giles Clarke, the ECB’s chairman, said the decision reflected a ‘sensible approach … to ensure that the largest number of members of the Pakistani ethnic community across Britain can see the neutral Test matches between Pakistan and Australia as well as ensuring a good geographical spread of the matches.’ The Pakistan v Australia Twenty20s will both be at Edgbaston while Cardiff will host the two Twenty20 matches between England and Pakistan. In 2011 the Twenty20 match against India will be at Old Trafford and the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka will be at Bristol.

A whisper snowballed all day yesterday that the government was all set to appoint a new president for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

But neither could it be confirmed from the government authority, nor by the BCB sources.

"We are also hearing this," was the common response from the people concerned.

And the name that came up in gossips as Lt Gen Sina Ibn Jamali's successor surprised many. The whispering was that Gazi Golam Dastagir, a ruling party lawmaker and a BCB director as well, was going to takeover the responsibility of the country's richest sports body.

Jamali was appointed the BCB president in July 2007 after the caretaker government had dismissed the executive committee of the board. A 12-member executive was also formed at that time.

As the board is gearing up for the preparation of the 2011 World Cup, speculations are also ripe that a change at the top is also very much on the cards.

বৃহস্পতিবার, ১০ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

GM Ziaur Rahman finished 11th in the fourth Kolkata Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament that concluded at Gorky Sadan in Kolkata yesterday.GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam emerged champion with eight points. Zia defeated Indian IM MR Lalit Babu in the final round to raise his point tally to six and half, just half-a-point ahead of GM Reefat Bin Sattar, who became 34th after beating Indian Sayantan Das.GM Enamul Hossain Rajib with five points finished 54th followed by FM Abu Sufian Shakil, who finished 81st with 4.5 points. Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar with four points finished 87th. In the final round, Shakil drew with Bitan Banerjee, Sagar drew with Swapnil Dhopade, Rajib lost to Anwesh Upadhyaya while Debaraj Chatterjee went down against Thakur Akash.

The national cricketers return to business today to take preparation for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe.All contracted players as well as non-contracted cricketers who have been part of the Bangladesh team during the recent tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe have been asked to report at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.Coach Jamie Siddons, who is all set to supervise the Tigers until the 2011 World Cup, is expected to return from Australia to join the team in the next couple of days while vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan will miss the camp as the all-rounder is nursing his groin injury in Adelaide.Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is also going through a rehabilitation programme after having operation in his both knees for the second time in Australia.After a week's fitness and fielding training the cricketers will go into the Eid break.Zimbabwe will arrive in Bangladesh on October 21 to play a five-match one-day series in Dhaka and Chittagong against the Tigers, who achieved a historic Test and one-day series wins in the Caribbean followed by a 4-1 series victory over Zimbabwe.But before the next international assignment the cricketers will get the chance to play the Premier Division Cricket League matches.

Mohammedan striking pair of Zahid Hasan Emily (2nd from L) and Nigerian Bukola Olaleken (3rd from L) celebrate with teammates after an easy win against Feni Soccer Club in the opening match of the Citycell Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Both scored two goals each in the Black and Whites' 4-0 win. Photo: STARStar striker Zahid Hasan Emily made immediate returns on Mohammedan's investment of the highest transfer fee by striking a brace on his debut. Emily's goals powered the Black and Whites to an emphatic 4-0 win over newcomers Feni Soccer Club in the opening match of the Citycell Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Apart from Emily's brace, Nigerian striker Alamu Bukola Olaleken also fired twice to make a bold statement to defend the title of the season's curtain-raising tournament. On the rain-socked-slippery surface, Mohammedan's coach Maruful Haq chose to play in a 4-4-2 formation keeping striking duo Emily and Bukola in front against a side, who was playing at the BNS for the first time and could hardly impress the few hundreds spectators in the drizzle.However, it was speedy winger Zahid Hossain, who was the source of the first two goals from the right wing, a spot through which Mohammedan produced most of their attacks. Mohammedan got off to a sparkling start and threatened the opponents twice in the first ten minutes and saw Bukola's first attempt come off the post in the very fourth minute after the Nigerian striker was well blocked by defender Shipon inside the danger zone in the previous minute. Then, attacking midfielder Enamul Haq Sharif, who was irregular in the starting eleven in the last season, disappointed the Black and Whites floating a Zahid cross over the post inside the box.There was no nothing to mention about Feni Soccer Club though Monayem Khan Raju, who was in Dido's camp, whipped in two crosses from the left, but there was no one to test MN Shakil, who stood under the Mohammedan post in place of injured keeper Aminul Haq. Star-studded Mohammedan, however, did not wait for long as Bukola drove Zahid's right-side lob home on the half hour of the game to give them a deserved lead. Five minutes later he capitalizing on another throw-in from Zahid but sent the ball wide despite dancing past defender Shahin and keeper Piru. Five minutes from the breather, Zahid took his sudden trademark drive outside the box and saw it rattle against Feni Soccer Club's crossbar. After resumption, Mohammedan looked more organised and kept the opponent at bay with one after another attack and pulled off three goals inside 15 minutes as Emily lit up the second half with his movement. The former Abahani striker, Emily, just drove a Zahid right-side cross home in the 57th minute to celebrate his debut in the Black and Whites tent and made the margin 3-0 in the 68th minute, but this time the provider was left-back Wali Faisal, who also rejoiced his debut with Emily. Thereafter, Bukola being set by captain Arman Aziz ran down the right to surge past defender Shipon and keeper Piru to place the ball inside the near post to widen the margin 4-0 in the 71st minute before Emily's third goal was ruled out due to off-side six minute from time. "From the word go, I was a bit nervous because it was my first match after recovering from the injury. But I was confident that I would reach the target and it could have been pleasure for me had the referee not ruled out my third goal," said Emily, who also praised Zahid Hossain. In the day's other match, a depleted Brothers Union also began their campaign with a 2-0 win over Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan at Army Stadium.Mamun put the All Oranges ahead in the 18th minute before Milon sealed the match seven minutes into the second half. TEAMS MOHAMMEDAN: MN Shakil, Ariful Islam, Wali Faisal, Mofazzal Hossain Saikat (Mamun Mia), Nasiruddin, Zahid Hossain, Arman Aziz, Alamu Bukola (Nasir), Zahid Hasan Emily, Enamul Haq Sharif (Shakil Ahmed), Abdul Baten Komol.FENI SOCCER CLUB: Piaruzzaman Piru, Jahangir Alam, Nurul Amin Shipon, Shainur Rahman Shahin, Akramuzzaman Lition, Monayem Khan Raju, Emrul Hasan, Asif Yousuf, Ibayed Hossain Komol (Amirul Islam), Ashraful Kader Manju, Anwar Hossain (Abu Sufian Zahid).Referee: Tayeb Hasan Yellow cards: Sharif (Mohammedan)

বুধবার, ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Bangladesh will host the 6th SAFF Championship scheduled for December 1-15 this year, SAFF announced today. All the eight South Asian countries will take part in the meet.The Championship was supposed to be held in New Delhi, India. But India later informed of their inability to host the meet, specially reluctant to host Pakistan at the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year.Then Bangladesh and Nepal jointly expressed their interest to host the meet and considering interest of the two counties, the SAFF policy-makers sent their representatives to Nepal and Bangladesh to assess the venues and other facilities. Dhaka was finally chosen as the venue for the meet.Soon after the announcement, Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin expressed his satisfaction. He said that they would host the tournament at a world standard and with a colourful ceremony.The groups of the teams will be decided through lottery on October 3 during the congress of South Asian Football Federation in Dhaka.

Jamie SiddonsBangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) kept faith in the current set up of the national team as they extended the tenures of captain, vice-captain, head coach and the three-member selection committee.Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has been retained as captain while Shakib Al Hasan as his deputy, but the big decision in Wednesday's board of directors' meeting came when they agreed in principle to extend the tenure of head coach Jamie Siddons until the end of the ICC World Cup in 2011.The two-year tenure of the Australian will expire at the end of November and what the board high-ups believed that it would be unwise to bring someone new in the job ahead of the cricket showpiece event where Bangladesh is co-host."It was a big decision to retain Jamie [Siddons] as coach. What we believe is that he [Jamie] already has adjusted with our players well and he understands the young players. When he showed his interest to continue his job with this team, we thought it would be unwise to bring someone new at this point of time," BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus explained the board's sentiment."Jamie, who has skin cancer, also confirmed us that his sickness was not a major problem and it would not make any obstacle to his work," he said adding that a three-member committee would be formed within two-three days to settle the terms and conditions of the new contract with the coach.The board has also decided that Mashrafe will continue as captain and Shakib as the vice- captain until Zimbabwe's tour to Bangladesh in October-November this year. Zimbabwe will arrive in Dhaka on October 21 to play five-match one-day series against the Tigers.Mashrafe took over the job from Mohammad Ashraful to lead the team in West Indies and Zimbabwe, but unfortunately he missed both the tours due to knee injury and in his absence Shakib successfully led the team to historic Test and one-day series victories in the Caribbean which was followed by a 4-1 win in Zimbabwe.But BCB found no reason to bring about any change and they hoped both would be fit before the series against Zimbabwe. Mashrafe recently had operation on his knees while Shakib is currently in Adelaide for treatment of his groin injury."As suggested by the experts, we hope that both will be fit before the series. There was no point to make changes. True that Shakib did excellent job but Mashrafe has not been tested," said Yunus.As per the recommendation of the evaluation committee the board also extended the tenure of the national selection committee of chief selector Rafiqul Alam and members Naimur Rahman and Akram Khan until June 30 next year.The directors also discussed on the short-listed candidates for the position of the chief executive officer (CEO) and decided that a special committee would finalise the appointment process.But there is slim chance to see that the appointment will be being completed within a short time though the position has been lying vacant for nearly one-and-a-half years."Its takes time," said Yunus without elaborating. The board however has approved the appointment of Shafiuddin Ahmed FCA as the chief financial officer of the country's richest sports body.Meanwhile, following a request from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) the board has agreed that the Tigers will appear in the first-ever day-night Test match during the Tigers' tour of England in May-June 2010, subject to approval by the International Cricket Council for holding a day-night Test.The meeting was adjourned and Yunus informed that the meeting might resume on September 14.

মঙ্গলবার, ৮ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Shakib Al Hasan will not need surgery at the moment to overcome his groin injury.The injured all-rounder saw physiotherapy expert Dr Steve Saunders and surgeon Dr. Peter Malycha at the Saunders Sports & Spinal clinic in Adelaide, Australia yesterday and the experts suggested physiotherapy treatment.“I have to continue the therapy for five to six weeks and during this time we will be able to assess how the groin is responding to the treatment. For the first couple of weeks I will be working with Dr. Saunders before I return to Dhaka for Eid," Shakib informed the board yesterday. "I will continue to treat the injury as per the doctor's instructions at home and I am confident that I will be fit for the series against Zimbabwe. Dr. Saunders and Dr. Malycha are very optimistic that I will be able to start playing soon,” he added. Zimbabwe will arrive in Dhaka on October 21 to playfive-match one-day series against the Tigers. The national cricketers will start their preparation for the upcoming series tomorrow at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and coach Jamie Siddons, who is currently in Adelaide, is expected to join the team within next two-three days.Shakib has been suffering from persistent groin pain and had to play with painkillers in both the West Indies and Zimbabwe but successfully led the team to a historic 2-0 Test and 3-0 one-day series victories against West Indies followed by a 4-1 series success against Zimbabwe.

Following the footsteps of their traditional rivals, Mohammedan went for a showdown yesterday to confirm the cricketers for the upcoming Premier Division Cricket League battle.

The Black and White's pulled off the biggest surprise for their supporters as they made a coup by alluring national opener Tamim Iqbal from hattrick champions Abahani. The Sky Blues had set a new trend when they brought two big stars Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan into their club tent few days back and then made it public - - a move which is something new in the domestic cricket scene.

Abahani officials had also confirmed the service of Tamim during the occasion but the Chittagonian put pen to paper for Mohammedan yesterday along with former Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful, who returned to the Motijheel tent from Gazi Tank, in front of the exultant club officials.

The Motijheel outfit may have been a bit late but they made a bold statement that they are all set to put aside their disappointment of the last few seasons and served a jolt to their archrivals by roping in Tamim, who has changed his mind after getting a better offer from the Black and White tent.

Though the full team was expected to appear yesterday to confirm their service, only two national stars Ashraful and Tamim turned up. Lutfur Rahman Badal, the chairman of the Mohammedan cricket committee, however announced the names of 12 other cricketers and said that all of them already made a contract with the Black and Whites.

"Everybody made their contracts with us. It's something new that we announced the names well before the opening of the transfer window and I think there is a lack of confidence about the players," said Badal.

"We had talked with Tamim long ago and we confirmed him after his returning from Malaysia. What we believe that one can only claim that he is their player only after this player put pen on paper," he responded when asked about Tamim's u-turn.

He also informed that Sri Lanka all-rounder Farveez Mahroof all but confirmed to play the whole season for Mohammedan and they may come up with more surprise for everybody to make sure that they would not leave any stones unturned to regain the glory.

Without elaborating, Badal demanded that Tamim and Ashraful would be the highest paid players in this season although Mashrafe and Shakib is believed to get the record amount of Tk 20 lakhs each.

"It is true a discussion was taken place and I had promised Abahani (to play for them in the upcoming season), but nothing was finalised as I did not put pen on the paper, or even taken any advance money from them and I have the right to consider other offers until I strike a deal and I also did the same thing last season," said Tamim, who claimed that he confirmed with Tk 20 lakhs with Mohammedan defending his move.

Ashraful promised a better show this time for the Black and White's and stated that Mohammedan is the number one team on paper in this season.

"I played for Mohammedan in 2007 but could not do enough. But I am confident that things would be different this time. Mohammedan made a champion team this time because it's a balanced side," said the ace batsman.

রবিবার, ৬ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Edson Silva Dido (3rd from left), coach of the Bangladesh national football team, draws lots during the draw ceremony of the Citycell Federation Cup 2009 at the Hotel Sheraton yesterday.
Archrivals Mohammedan Sporting Club and Abahani will not meet each other on the battlefield until both of them reach the final of the Citycell Federation Cup as they were rated the two top seeded sides in the groupings of the season's curtain-raising tournament, beginning on September 10.
Champions Mohammedan were considered the number one seed in the warm-up tournament of the professional football league, the B. League, while last year's runners-up Abahani followed them as the second best which meant they will not face each other until the final, scheduled to be held on October 8.
Keeping four semifinalists of last season on top of each four groups, other 12 teams including three invited sides -- Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan, Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Police -- were drawn in a ceremony which was held at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday.
The Black and Whites were placed in Group A along with depleted Brothers Union, BKSP, and Feni Soccer Club while the Sky Blues led Group D with a new look Muktijoddha Sangsad, Chittagong Abahani and Bangladesh Police.
Group B included last year's semifinalists Chittagong Mohammedan SC, Arambagh KS, Rahmatganj MFS and newcomers Shukhtara Jubo Sangsad of Naryanganj while Farashganj SC, last year's semifinalists, Sheikh Russel KC, Bangladesh Army and newcomers Beanibazar SC of Sylhet.
Top two sides from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals to be held on October 1 and 2. The semifinals are billed for October 4 and 5.
Mohammedan will begin their campaign to defend the title taking on Feni Soccer Club in one of the two opening day matches at the Bangabandhu National Stadium while their old foes Abahani will play against Bangladesh Police on September 13.
After the first match, each team will get a three-day break before playing their next match and the tournament will remain suspended for eight days for the Eid-ul-Fitr and will resume on September 26.
Meanwhile, the organisers this time have changed the format of the tournament to keep the quarterfinals and dropped the qualifying round, which last year saw five teams join eleven automatic qualifiers in the 16-team final round.
Before finalising the groupings, last season's activities of the Bangladesh Football Federation was presented by power-point illustration that could hardly attract the guests.
BFF vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed sought help from all football stakeholders to make this season a success too.
Another vice-president Manzur Hossain Malu, general secretary Al Musabbir Sadi, members Anwarul Haq Helal, Golam Rabbani Helal, Fazlur Rahman Babul, technical director Shahidur Rahman Shantu, national coach Edson Silva Dido and some former national players and the representatives of all participating clubs were among others present.

Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman won his fifth round game to share the second position with compatriot Enamul Hossain Rajib at the end of the five rounds of the 4th Kolkata Open International Grandmasters Chess Tournament at Gorkey Sadan on Saturday.

Both the Bangladesh Grandmasters have four points each along with eight other players while Indian GM Sandipan Chanda enjoys solo lead in the meet earning 4.5 points from five outings.

Abahani have shut their door on Tamim Iqbal permanently after the national opener opted to join their arch-rivals Mohammedan SC despite giving them a firm commitment to play for them, said the officials.
Tamim joined Mohammedan reportedly for a whopping Tk 20 lakh that equalled the record of Mashrafee bin Murtaza and Sakib al Hasan, who recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abahani to play for them.
Tamim was set to extend his contract with Abahani for Tk 15 lakh, but the opener dodged the club after he had returned from holiday in Mauritius. Ahabani officials said Tamim contacted one of their office bearers and asked for Tk 18 lakh.
‘It’s very unfortunate that he is not receiving our call now. He was an integral part of our plan. Now we have to rejig everything,’ said Abahani cricket secretary GS Hasan Tamim.
‘National players are supposed to be the role model for our young generation. But if they don’t keep their words how they will play that role? We will not welcome a player of this nature in our club in future,’ said the official.
Tamim was not available for comments.
Another Abahani official Jalal Yunus said after losing Tamim to Mohammedan, they have now confirmed the services of Imrul Kayes from Gazi Tank Cricketers.
Meanwhile, Mohammedan Sporting Club have completed their quota of pool players with Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful and Mamudullah Riyad. After Tamim joined them, Mohammedan have released their other pool player Dollar Mahmud to Old DOHS.
Former national captain Khaled Mashud, Aftab Ahmed and Tamim’s elder brother Nafees Iqbal will also play for Mohammedan this season.

Bangladesh football will savour a thrilling season with the name of the professional football league changed to Bangladesh League from B League from October 16. Federation Cup the curtain raiser of the season will kick off involving 16 teams to initiate the season-promising continuous football.
Bangladesh has never seen a continuous seven-month of football with both local and international fixtures. The Federation Cup starts from Thursday and after its completion the professional football league will begin on October 16. After four or five rounds of the Bangladesh League the SAFF Championship involving the eight South Asian countries will be played in Dhaka and it will be followed by the SA Games where Bangladesh will be looking to win the elusive football gold.
After the conclusion of the SA Games the Bangladesh national team will be gearing up for the AFC Challenge Cup final round scheduled to kick off in February.
The BFF, in a bid to add glamour to the lone professional football league of the country, has decided to change its name from B League to Bangladesh League. Although an official has not been made yet, the officials of the BFF have agreed to rename it as the Bangladesh League as it will enable the federation to avoid using anything like ‘A’ league. In the past the BFF has often been asked about the existence of ‘A’ league. Moreover, the B League sounded like a second-rated tournament to many followers of football overseas.
The federation also intends to name the second tier of football as the B League, which will begin from 2010-11 season. The two relegated teams from the Bangladesh League will join the six to eight sides picked from the current first division league in the B League.

শনিবার, ৫ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

The season's transfer market for the upcoming Premier Division Cricket League has been stirred up by the high demands of some of the national players. The chief attraction for this year's transfer market was none other than star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who not only signed a record deal with champions Abahani but also paved the way for some of his colleagues to up their price tags.

But it is the dashing opener of the national team Tamim Iqbal who has added new spice to the already heated up market as he has changed his mind suddenly to join the Mohammedan tent from their bitter rivals Abahani which will without a doubt bring the country's two popular clubs on a course of collision. And the reason for this is simple; a better offer from the Motijheel outfit.

Mohammedan may have been a bit late in making their attempt to net the big fish but they have definitely served a huge jolt to their archrivals and made a bold statement that they are all set to put aside their disappointment of the last few seasons.

The move has already caused a sharp reaction in the Abahani tent as they believe that it would totally be unethical for the left-hander to drive back from his commitment.

"It's really shocking. He [Tamim] has verbally confirmed us [Abahani] after we fulfilled his demand, but suddenly he demanded more. What he told us was that he got a better offer and can only continue with Abahani if we fulfil his demand which is unacceptable," fumed Abahani's cricket committee vice-chairman Jalal Yunus.

"There is a question of morality. We think he has set a very bad example for our cricket. Anyway we have already made up for his loss by confirming Imrul Kayes," he added.

Tamim however gave a different explanation regarding the controversy and said that the treatment he got from an Abahani official was unfortunate.

"What is for sure is that I will sign for Mohammedan tomorrow, but I have not changed my mind only because of money," was the confirmation from the left-hander about joining the Motijheel outfit.

"I want to clarify my position regarding the issue. Yes, it's true that verbally I agreed with Abahani. And I was prepared to keep my commitment but during my visit to Malaysia, I got a phone call from a Mohammedan official who offered me one lakh taka more than the amount Abahani had offered.

"What I thought was that there was no point of changing mind for this small sum of money. But they increased the amount and there is a big difference between Tk 15 lakh and 18 lakh. After returning home I contacted an Abahani official and told him politely that I have got a better offer and if you have any scope to increase the amount please do. I can't see what's wrong with that," explained Tamim to this correspondent over phone yesterday.

"We are professional players and there is nothing wrong if someone bargains over his payment. But it was really unfortunate the way one of Abahani's officials reacted in this matter," complained Tamim.

"But I definitely want to play for Abahani in the future because they are my favourite club and I have fond memories of the club when I went there with my uncle [Akram Khan] at my early age," he added.

শুক্রবার, ৪ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯

Emeka Christian Ibe, the hard working midfielder of Dhaka Abahani, may move to his old club Dhaka Mohammedan SC. Mohammedan officials claimed on Friday that they had already sent the air ticket to the player.
Former Mohammedan striker and currently an official of the club, Nakib, confirmed that they have sent three tickets to South Africa for Alamu Bukola, Dammi Emmanule and Emeka. Bukola and Dammi played for the traditional black and white outfit last year but Emeka wore the sky blue shirt and he was an inspirational figure behind Abahani’s B League success.
Abahani claimed that Emeka was all set to play again for them but Mohammedan lured the player with a better offer.

The Central Organising Committee of the World Cup 2011 has halved the budget than what Bangladesh had sought for the opening ceremony, a senior official of the Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Friday.
Mahbub Anam, senior vice-president of the BCB, who attended the COC meeting in Mumbai on September 2, told reporters that the ICC has approved $5 million for the ceremony against Bangladesh’s demand of $10 million.
Mahbub, however, expressed his optimism that a colourful opening ceremony is still possible with the amount. Bangladesh will host the opening ceremony on February 17, 2011.
The COC has approved a budget of $115 million for the event to be jointly hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

chief over pay cut
Leaders of the Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association of Bangladesh have decided to seek an appointment with the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, Lt General Sina Ibn Jamali, before taking a hard line over their pay cut.
The decision came at an Ifter party of the association on Friday, which was also attended by two BCB directors, Ahmed Sazzadul Alam and GS Hasan Tamim.

The BCB at its last meeting on August 18 decided that an A grade umpire from the national pool would receive Tk 12,000 for a first-class match instead of Tk 20,000, the amount they got in the last season.
The remuneration of umpires of other grades and scorers for both first-class and one-day matches will also come down proportionately, the BCB decided. The umpires alleged that they were not even discussed by the officials before making the drastic pay cut.
‘We have told them (the directors) about our grievances and they advised us to go to the president before making any decision,’ umpires association president Kazi Yusha Mishu told New Age.
‘Hopefully he will realise the problem that the BCB cannot dishonour the umpires by slashing their honorarium. Otherwise we will make our decision,’ said Mishu, who is also a BCB councillor.

GM Enamul Hossain Rajib shared the lead along with four other players at the close of the third round in the 4th Kolkata Open International Grand Masters Tournament in Gorkey Sadan, Kolkata on Thursday.
Rajib with white pieces defeated Indian GM Abhijit Gupta in 41 moves to earn maximum four points.
After two successive wins, GM Ziaur Rahman dropped point as he drew against GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India. He was jointly in second position with 11 other players, said a press release yesterday.
In the other matches of the round, FM Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar beat India's Diptayan Ghosh while GM Reefat Bin Sattar drew with India's Vaibhab Suri. Shakil drew with India's Fenil Shah while Debaraj Chatterjee lost to India's FM Shyam Niki.

There was a time when the concept of having a pre-season training camp was only restricted to the Bangladesh national side. But the scenario has gradually seen a change as four Dhaka clubs have recently decided to hold conditioning camps outside the capital ahead of the season's curtain-raising tournament, the Federation Cup.

After a pre-season training camp in Comilla last season, Motijheel-based outfit Mohammedan SC have proved to be the trendsetters in inspiring others to undertake training in the clam and pleasant environment outside Dhaka. Most of the Dhaka clubs have no facilities including ground inside the city and therefore often fail to make their players ready for the top-flight battle.

The popular Black and Whites also have no ground in Dhaka and have kept their promise to continue the pre-season preparation outside Dhaka and this time they have chosen Mymensingh as the venue where they are able to avail all facilities including gym and swimming-pool.

Mohammedan under the supervision of coach Maruful Haq brought two trophies out of three home and finished behind champions Abahani in the B. League and many still believe that those successes were achieved, mainly due to the pre-season conditioning camp in Comilla that kept the players fit throughout the season.

Nevertheless, Mohammedan's successes have inspired new-powerhouse Sheikh Russel KC and even giants Abahani, who have the ground facility, to choose the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) for the conditioning camp while Muktijoddha Sangsad opted to train at the Dinajpur BKSP.

Mohammedan coach Maruful Haq believed a team needs uninterrupted training before the start of the season, if they intend to stay in the trophy race and the club ultimately would be the beneficiary through this type of training though it might take a bit more cost compared to running a training camp in Dhaka.

Maruf thought that the clubs might start their pre-season camp outside Dhaka though it ultimately totally depended on the management decision.

Veteran coach Golam Sarwar Tipu, the coach of Muktijoddha Sangsad, said the clubs might opt to train in the isolated place like Dinajpur BKSP or might choose a place near to the capital.

"The financial condition of our clubs is not good and nothing will be changed overnight, but they can take imitative like others to send the team outside Dhaka as most of the Dhaka club have no ground and others facilities."

Shakib Al Hasan will leave Dhaka tomorrow morning for Adelaide for treatment of his groin injury.

The number one all-rounder in one-day rankings is scheduled to consult Dr. Steve Saunders for physiotherapy assessment and treatment at the Saunders Sports & Spinal on Monday.

Coach Jamie Siddons, who is currently in Brisbane, will join Shakib in Adelaide.

The stand-in Tigers skipper, who led the team to a historic 2-0 Test and 3-0 one-day series victories in West Indies followed by a 4-1 series success against Zimbabwe, had to play with painkillers during both the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours due to acute groin pain.

It would only be possible to know his condition only after the consultation with his doctor.